January 10, 1999
Directions on the Life in Christ -- pt. V
This is the final installment of this series from St. Anthony
the Great:
BEGIN: Beware of the counsels of the evil one, if he should come in the guise of one
professing truth to beguile you and lead you into deceit. Even if he should come to you as
an angel of light, do not believe him or obey him; for he is apt to fascinate the faithful
by the attractive semblance of truth. Those who are not perfect do not know these wiles of
the devil and are not aware of what he is constantly putting into them; but the perfect
know, as the Apostle says, "But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age,
even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and
evil" (Hebrews 5:14). These the devil cannot seduce; but he easily fascinates those
faithful, who keep scant attention on themselves, by a bait which appears sweet, and he
catches them as a fisherman catches fish with a hook hidden in the bait . . . as Solomon
says, "There are ways that seem to be right to a man, but the end of them looks to
the depth of hell" (Proverbs 16:25). These things happen to them because in their
self-reliance they always follow the inclinations of their heart and fulfil their own
desires, not listening to their fathers or asking their advice. So the devil shows them
visions and illusions, and puffs up their hearts with pride. Sometimes he sends them
dreams at night, which he fulfils in the daytime, thus to plunge them into greater prelest.*
(see explanatory note below) More than that, he at times shows them light at night, so
that the place where they are becomes bright; and he does many other things mistaken for
true signs. He does all this to set their mind at rest as regards himself and make them
accept him for an angel. As soon as they have accepted him as such, he hurls them down
from their height, through the spirit of pride which takes possession of them. He strives
to keep them in the conviction that they have become greater and more glorious in spirit
than many others and have no need to turn to their fathers and listen to them. But they,
according to the Scriptures, are in reality clusters of grapes, shiny but bitter and
unripe. Directions of the fathers are onerous for them, for they are convinced that they
know everything already.
I shall indicate to you the practice, which alone makes a man firm in the good and keeps
him such from beginning to end: and this is – love God with all your soul, all your
heart and all your mind, and work for Him alone. Then God will give you great strength and
joy, and all godly works will become for you as sweet as honey, and all physical labours,
mental occupations and vigils, generally the whole yoke of God, will be sweet and light
for you. However, from His love for men the Lord at times sends them adversities, that
they should not exalt themselves but continue striving; and, instead of courage, they feel
heaviness and weakness; instead of joy – sadness; instead of peace and quiet they
feel agitation; instead of sweetness – bitterness; and many other similar things
happen to those who love God. But, by struggling and prevailing, they gradually become
stronger and stronger. When they finally overcome it all, then the Holy Spirit abides with
them in all things and they fear evil no more.
Purity, everlasting and unchanging peace, fullness of mercy and other beautiful virtues,
crowned by blessing, are God's commandments. Strive to fulfil these commands of the
Spirit, which will give life to your souls and through which you will receive the Lord
into yourselves – they are the safe way. Without purity of heart and body no one can
be perfect before God; therefore it is said in the Gospels, "Blessed are the pure in
heart: for they shall see God" (Matthew 5:8). Perfection is born of purity of heart.
The heart contains good naturally and evil unnaturally. Evil gives birth to passions of
the soul, such as condemnation, hatred, vainglory and the like. The good gives birth to
knowledge of God and sanctity or purity of soul from all passions. If a man decides to
mend his ways and begins to avoid all evil, arming himself against it by his efforts
– mourning, contrition, sighings, fasting, vigils, poverty and many prayers to God
– the Lord by His grace will help him and will free him also of all passions of the
soul. Many who have long been monks and virgins have not learned to master this science of
purity, because, disdaining the directions of their fathers, they have followed the
desires of their own hearts. For this reason evil soul-destroying spirits have taken
possession of them, wounding them day and night with invisible arrows and giving them no
peace in any place, so that their hearts were occupied now by pride, now by vanity, now by
impious envy, now by censure, now by anger and rage, now by quarrels and many other
passions. Their lot will be with the five foolish virgins, because they senselessly waste
all their time – do not curb their tongues, do not keep their eyes pure, do not
protect their bodies from lusts and their hearts from impurities and other things,
lamentable for their uncleanness – and they are satisfied simply with a linen
garment, which is a mere token of virginity. So they are deprived of the heavenly oil for
lighting their lamps, and the bridegroom will not one day open to them the doors of his
chamber but will say to them, as he said to the foolish virgins: "Verily I say unto
you, I know you not" (Matthew 25:12). I am writing this because I wish you to be
saved – to become free and true, and a pure bride for Christ, Who is the Bridegroom
of all souls, as Apostle Paul says: "I have espoused you to one husband, that I may
present you as a chaste virgin to Christ" (2 Corinthians 11:2).
Let us awake from sleep, while we are still in the body, let us sign over ourselves and
mourn over ourselves from our whole heart day and night, to be delivered from the terrible
torment, groaning, weeping and anguish which will have no end. Let us beware of the wide
gate and the broad way leading to destruction, although a great many go in thereat; but
let us go in at the strait gate and the narrow way which lead unto life, and few there are
which go through it. Those who follow the latter way are real doers, who receive the
reward of their labours with joy and inherit the kingdom. As to those who are not yet
quite ready to approach it, I implore them not to be negligent while there is time, lest
in the hour of need they find themselves without oil and with no one who would agree to
sell it. For this happened to the five foolish virgins who found no one from whom to buy
it. Then they cried, weeping, "Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said,
Verily I say unto you, I know you not" (Matthew 25: 11-12). And this happened to them
for no other reason than laziness. Later they woke up and began to busy themselves, but it
was of no avail, for the Master of the house got up and closed the door, as it is written.
END TEXT.
*PRELEST – Russian Orthodox Bishop, Ignatius Brianchaninov, defines this term as
follows: "The corruption of human nature through the acceptance by man of mirages
mistaken for truth. To be in ‘prelest’ is to be in a state of beguilement and
illusion, accepting a delusion as reality." The word, incidentally, is Russian.
from "Early Fathers From the Philokalia," by E. Kadloubovsky and G.E.H.
Palmer, (London: Faber and Faber, 1954), pp. 52-54.
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